Take part in our winter comms survey

It’s now December and icy roads, closed schools and uncollected bins tend to dominate local government over the coming months. Residents rush to council websites seeking to report problems and find information. Increasingly, there is an expectation for this data to be real time.

Once you have completed the survey you will be able to see the results of all participants so far.

In LGiU’s recent report Going where the eyeballs are, a popular section was on the necessarily chaotic nature of communications during special and/or specific events.

Featured was a case study on the BwD Winter Facebook page – a dedicated space to keep residents informed about the effects the cold weather was having on local services. The council estimates this to have prevented 8,000 phone calls and saved £10,000. LGiU outlined a recommended system – see p27. But what do you think?

Local government has a responsibility for updating residents, media, voluntary organisations and private sector companies during these special situations. Which tools do you think are most effective?